Of course, my dear! This was such a great AU idea and Iām so happy to write this. I hope youāll enjoy š My apologies on how long this took to get back to you!!
So, I changed around the AU a bit in that itās not so much that the restaurants are all the same type of restaurant, each desperately trying to steal each otherās customers because I felt that, if the restaurants were all the same type of cuisine and food, the AU would get boring quick. Instead, in my mind, Namimori has changed. Itās now known as being foodie central. The town is chock full of restaurants, cafes, bars, bakeries, and places to eat. Itās the dream destination for everyone who loves food. Thereās so many places to go that nobody would ever be hungry. However, we all know that eating outā¦it gets expensive real quick. Thereās simply not enough money for most people to try out every restaurant and be a patron of every place. Most people find a place they like and they decide to spend their limited money there, so there definitely is a rivalry between the different restaurants. They all wanna steal each otherās customers in a way, even if they sell different kinds of foods, because they want these customers to be their patrons and spend their money at the familyās restaurant.
Just because you asked who the food critic would beā¦critics actually. For some reason, maybe just because itās hilarious to me, I see the Varia as being the townās premier food critics. These are the critics that everyone listens to and puts stock in. A bad review from them can absolutely break a restaurant, for the most part.
Xanxus writes very little reviews, honestly. He visits a lot of places, with Squalo right by his side. The two work in tandem, with both trying the food and beverages at the chosen venue. Xanxus, though heās really too lazy to write his own reviews, which is why they come out so rarely, has a lot to say though and Squalo takes notes of Xanxusā opinions, tempering them with his own, and tends to write the articles based on both their experiences at a place. Most of the time, the reviews published under Squaloās name reflect both their opinions. The two are the toughest of the critics to impress generally and when it comes to the Vongola restaurant, because of the bad blood between the new owner and Xanxus, theyāre always at risk of the worst of the worst review. One of Xanxusā reviews, one of the few he wrote himself, initially blasted the restaurant, though it didnāt do as much damage because of the anger, rage, and clear bias against Tsuna in particular. Most of the time though, these twoā¦their word is almost law in foodie circles.
Belphegor reviews mostly sushi places, though heāll expand to other types of cuisine every now and again, if he gets bored. But for the most part, itās sushi and heās dissecting everything about the preparation, the presentation, and the taste. Heās incredibly picky and very, very difficult to please. To date, heās run nine different sushi restaurants and two miscellaneous little cafes completely out of business with scathing reviews.
Lussuria specializes in cute little cafes and bakeries. Thatās his area of expertise when it comes to reviews. Not only does he review the food, but Lussuria is really picky and has an eagle eye when it comes to the atmosphere of the cafes and bakeries. He demands that there be an atmosphere to the place that is enjoyable to sit and relax in. It must be decorated well. The food must be presented properly and in an aesthetic way, as well as taste amazing. Heās very thorough with his reviews and most of the people who religiously follow his reviews are those who like to go places where they can get those Instagram-worthy food and drink pictures.
Finally, we have Levi. He doesnāt really get the privilege of going out and reviewing himself, though he keeps asking and almost begging for an assignment. There is a reason for that ā he doesnāt express himself well through words. Heās a lousy writer himself and while he has a great eye when it comes to editing other peopleās articles and reviews, he canāt bring himself to kill even one sentence of his own work. Because of this, heās often the one left to edit otherās reviews, decide on layouts, pictures, and such. He does all the grunt work for this group of reviewers.
Mammon owns the company that publishes the monthly newsletter/newspaper that collects all the reviews that people tune in for from this group of critics. He splits the profits off sales and subscriptions 40/60 with Xanxus, who largely finances the meals.
With the fall of the famous Arcobaleno restaurant, which youāll read about at the end of this post, the Vongola restaurant rose up and took its place as the peak of the dining experience. The Vongola restaurant is a three-star restaurant going off the Michelin Guide. Itās where you go for a night out, where the evening consists of anywhere from seven to twelve courses, where thereās an on-sight sommelier to suggest the perfect wine pairing for your meal, where thereās a fancy bar on-sight to serve up cocktails while you wait for your table to be ready, where the hostesses wear cocktail dresses and the servers wear ties and vests. Itās a high-end place for sure, the kind of place where youāll drop hundreds on a meal and still come out raving about the amazing experience. Itās one of a kind and very, very famous among the foodies in the town.
Tsuna ends up being plucked from obscurity, from a life where he had nothing at all to do with restaurants or businesses, where he just survived his day to day as a āno good loser.ā He was just living that life and one day, a well-dressed baby shows up on his doorstep and tells him heās just inherited ownership of the Vongola restaurant and the baby, who introduces himself as Reborn, is there to teach him the ropes of the business and train him to not only run the Vongola restaurant but elevate it even more. Tsuna denies ownership and claims to want nothing at all to do with owning and operating a restaurant but he gets very little option, to be honest. He kind of gets roped into it and despite his constant protests that he wonāt take over the restaurant, he ends up spending almost all his waking time there and any time heās not there, heās having the behind-the-scenes work of owning a restaurant drilled into his head by Reborn.
Tsunaās first job ā finding new blood to staff the Vongola restaurant. The first person Tsuna ends up recruiting is Gokudera, who takes over the behind-the-scenes work of administration work like accounting, scheduling, coordinating the restaurant business and the catering business, dealing with vendors, etc. Gokudera has a brilliant mind and effortlessly juggles the numerous tasks he ends up having to take on without ever once complaining. Anything he can do to help Tsuna he will!
In the kitchen, you have the duo of Yamamoto and Bianchi. Though the two butt heads and thereās a heated rivalry, particularly on Bianchiās side, they end up creating a kitchen where everything flows perfectly and their rivalry actually helps keep the menu inspired and exciting. While Yamamoto grew up in a sushi restaurant and excels at Japanese cuisine, heās always eager and happy to expand his repertoire and spends the most time training and improving his skills to hold up to Bianchi, who has more range but also insists dishes be made to her particular tastes and wants instead of the customers.
When Chrome isnāt in the kitchen of the Kokuyo Gangās sweet shop, when she needs more shifts or hours, she subs in and takes on extra shifts in the kitchen of the Vongola restaurant, doing prep work or working on the desserts for the evening.
Lambo and I-Pin, being the youngest, tend to get the underappreciated and thankless jobs. Theyāll end up doing the setup before the restaurant opens, act as busboys, wash dishes, or end up running errands for the others.
Because Fuuta is a little older, a little more mature, while heāll sometimes pull the same type of shifts as the other younger staff members, heās also trusted to act as a host if one of the girls is unavailable for their shift or need a day off.
And by the girls, I do mean Haru and Kyoko, who both work as servers and hostesses wherever needed. Sometimes, if needed, Nana and Hana will also fill in shifts, but Haru and Kyoko are the full-time members for those positions. They both attract a lot of praise and attention. Haru, with her bubbly personality and thorough knowledge of all the Vongolaās menus, is always praised for her friendliness and help with deciding on what to eat or drink, while Kyokoās sweet smile always calms down even the most irritable of guests.
Ryohei ends up dealing with the catering side of the business, on top of being the bartender on site whenever needed. Heās more excited about the catering or private events, as he feels this is when he really gets to shine. His strength allows him to shine in setting up catering tables and displays, his speed and flexibility allows him to maneuver through crowds with ease with trays of food and drink, and his learned skills as a bartender means he can keep the bar even at catering gigs.
Lastly, we have Hibariā¦no one is quite sure what Hibari does for the Vongola, other than he works as a shadowy sort of supporter and keeps other competitors very much at bay, as well as shuts down any critical reviews or posts about the Vongola restaurant. Does he ever show up at the Vongola restaurant? Not unless itās closed to the public. Hibari doesnāt mingle with crowds all the best, after all.
Okay, so itās not technically a full-blown restaurant but I think itās close enough. To me, the Kokuyo Gangās setup is more a candy store than anything else. It technically could count as a restaurant because, on top of selling classic candy favourites, all types of snacks and sweet treats, they make their own custom candy creations, their own chocolate treats, and things along those lines. Because, letās be so frigging real here, Mukuro is all about the aesthetics, he couldnāt resist doing up his sweets shop is a big, eye-catching way. He pulled from classics and his shop really, REALLY resembles Willie Wonkaās chocolate factory. Itās over-the-top, fantastical, and that alone really pulls in the paying customers. He even requires all the others to wear uniforms based off iconic clothing from the film (of course, the Gene Wilder version.) While all the food is delicious for those with a sweet tooth, the appeal to the place really is in the theming, the over-the-top nature, and the eccentricities of the staff.
Speaking of the eccentricities of the staff, Mukuro swans around the place as if he owns itā¦because he does. Heās decked up as full Willie Wonka and sometimes heāll deal with the customers and man front store. Sometimes heāll just lurk in the back, watching everything going on through a camera. Sometimes he helps in the kitchens. Heās a little all over the place in the business. Heās best suited for the front, to be honest, where his pure charisma charms the customers and when his front of staff accidentally upset a customer (which definitely happens), heās great at smoothing it over. His contributions in the kitchen areā¦well, heās best at being an ideas man when it comes to the kitchen. Between him and a shadowy, green-haired figure heās sometimes seen by his staff with, they think of some amazing new sweets to introduce to the line-up. Mukuro is also a little bit of a troll. Heās not above daytrips or ābites outā to other restaurants where he antagonizes his competitors and charms their clientele, hoping to bring them to his shop as a frequent customer of his.
Ken is not allowed around the customers. Heās back of store only and the only time heās allowed up front is when heās stocking shelves and displays. He does all the receiving of products not made in store, stocks and maintains displays, etc. And, of course, he does it all in the ridiculous Oompa-Loompa outfit that Mukuro makes him wear. If heās forced into conversations with customers, it never ends well. He has yelled at customers before or made them cry. Itās strictly forbidden that he speak to customers anymore. He prefers it that way anyway. He likes to just do his own work and while he takes longer breaks than he should, heās a pretty good employee. Some say the best employee, considering the bulk of his paycheck goes into buying sweets from the store, haha.
Chikusa often works doubles at the Kokuyo sweet shop. Heāll be pulled in for front of store shifts but he can also double as a good set of hands back in the kitchens. If heās being forced into a front store shift, which he hates because of the customers, heās forced to dress up like one of the Golden Ticket Winners, frequently Augustus Gloop. If heās working the kitchen, which he also hates due to the heat and the fact he needs to shower more than once just to get the smell of sweets off him, heās garbed up like an Oompa-Loompa. Either way, heās fairly miserable while working. However, heās also not lazy. Heās more than capable of doing his job quickly and efficiently. While the customers canāt expect much chatter from him, heāll check them out quickly, get through long lines of customers in next to no time, and he wonāt be actively antagonistic. While in the kitchen, Chikusa actually does work hard and heās got a deft set of hands, particularly when it comes to chocolate.
When it comes to front store staff who often antagonize the customers, that would be Fran. Heās always front store, too, which is hilarious in some ways. Dressed up as Mike Teavee, heās the main one responsible for interacting with customers, welcoming them into the store, helping them find things, checking them out, etc. Itās not that heās bad at his job. Heās not ā heās actually rather fantastic at it, having the entirety of their stock memorized, being good at recommending the right things for any customers, etc. Itās more than Fran is kind of a little shit and he likes to snark. To some customers, thatās almost a part of the charm and appeal to the Kokuyo sweet store. They go in for sweet treats and to laugh at Franās snark and sarcasm. To other customers, they find Fran rude and deeply off-putting and thatās normally where Mukuro has to step in.
Chrome is most often found, in her little Oompa-Loompa outfit, in the kitchens of Kokuyoās sweet shop. Sheās not as good at the chocolate at Chikusa and sheās still learning the ropes, finding it harder to adapt to brand new recipes on the fly, but sheās the hardest worker in the entire building. Sheāll get up at four in the morning, come in, and do any and all baking needed for that day. If she has extra time, she experiments until she does have other recipes down pat, to the degree of expertise where they can be sold. She clocks off at noon, goes home to power sleep, and works evenings at the Vongola restaurant whenever needed. Sheās an exceptionally hard worker and though only Mukuro seems to know why sheās running herself ragged keeping the two jobs, sheās never once complained or given her work at either place less than her one hundred percent.
M.M. does not lower herself to deal with the customers or to even step foot in the hot, ādirtyā kitchen as she puts it. She has an office in the back of the sweets shop where she works and though she follows Mukuroās bizarre dress code, garbing up as Veruca Salt, she stays mostly out of sight, doing all the busy work that comes with running a business ā payroll, accounting, dealing with vendors, handling phone calls, etc. Sheās definitely skimming off the top, and Mukuro knows this, but M.M. is damn good at her job and itās never enough to bankrupt the company or even put it in the red, so he puts up with it.
The Cavallone restaurant was inherited by Dino. At the time he inherited it, while it still had a big name and was surviving off that name alone, the restaurant was in real danger of going under and was starting to really show its age. In its heyday, the Cavallone restaurant was known as the best place in town for authentic Italian food. However, due to years in the red, the quality of the food started to slip, the dĆ©cor became dated, the quality of the ingredients became poor, and the customers started to head elsewhere. While it survived off its regulars who had been coming for years, something desperately needed to be done and Dino turned out to be just the man to do it. He worked smart with the money and updated both the restaurantās look and its menu. He changed it from a hoity-toity, special meal out place into a restaurant that specialized still in genuine, authentic Italian food, but at a cost that would be reasonable for most. Instead of a $150-$200 supper out type of place, he was smart and found workarounds for things and the Cavallone restaurant became a place where most anyone could go to enjoy a supper out, from families to low-income people on a date night. Think an Olive Garden but with far superior food. Because of the changes he made and the bonds he made with his vendors, normally farmers in nearby communities, the customers started returning and new customers chose the Cavallone restaurant as their go to place.
Of course, Dino owns and maintains the restaurant. He does all the accounting, deals with vendors, supervises the staff, does the scheduling and payroll, etc. Heās involved deeply in everything the restaurant does and heāll roll up his sleeves and help out wherever he can, from being a host if someone calls out, to serving, to bussing. There is no job too small or too dirty for Dino, if it helps out the restaurant and the staff he considers like family to him.
Romario is head chef and has been with the restaurant the longest. Heās Dinoās right-hand man, in charge of the menu and making sure the food is all up to snuff. He runs his kitchen strictly but not unfairly and the absolute passion he has not just for his food, but for the restaurant itself, is so evident and it boosts morale quite a bit.
Michael Chianu is the star host of the Cavallone restaurant. A former pro athlete, his face is well-known among the customers and most of them get a thrill out of getting to talk to and interact with him. He draws in the customers like flies to honey and heās charismatic and charming enough to gain repeat customers most of the time.
Ivan works in the kitchen, helping out wherever needed and heās also responsible for all mixed drinks or mocktails sent out onto the floor. Bono takes care of advertising and is also a server. Lastly, Brutus works as the restaurantās busboy, as an extra hand wherever needed, and with his big size and intimidating nature, heās also the one to approach any customers kicking up a fuss or causing a scene.
Nobody knows how the Tomaso restaurant is still open. Itās a weird little place with bizarre staff and weird food. Itās gone through countless iterations and itās constantly changing its theme and menu. Itās kind of become known for that ā for never being the same and for being weird. While it markets itself as fusion cuisine, itās really not. Itās just a hodgepodge of whatever the owner thinks is cool. This is the place you come to find sushi pizza or burgers made out of alligator meat, for example. Itās also the place you come to find bizarre food challenges ā eat this gigantic ice cream sundae built around a pinwheel thatās standing up straight and do it without the pinwheel ever tilting and you get the dessert free or eat this five-pound burger in less than 30 minutes and you win your next meal free kind of thing. It hosts eating competitions and such monthly too. Itās just that place that is known for being off-kilter and different enough to really draw people in.
Naito, of course, is the current owner of the restaurant. Heās the ideas man, always coming up with changes to the menu or new weird events and challenges. Heās all over the front of the restaurant too, playing host, chatting it up with customers, bouncing around from here to there and just generally being loud and annoying but kind of charming all at the same time.
Mangusta, on top of running the kitchen and making Longchampās culinary dreams come true, also doubles as the restaurantās administration. He handles all the ātediousā, as Naito puts it, work like scheduling, bookkeeping, handling vendors, ordering, etc.
Lunga and Pantera both work as serversā¦which might be why a lot of reviews mention very poor service. Neither of these poor babies are exactly cut out for customer service but they do try.
The Millefiore restaurant is another really big name in the town of Namimori. Itās an odd case in the town too ā it originally started as the Giglio Nero Bakery. The Giglio Nero Bakery was owned by Luceās family and then went to her daughter Aria. It was a staple in Namimori for years and years, with tons of dedicated customers. It was known as the best bakery in town. When Aria passed away early, the bakery went to her young daughter Yuni. It was at this point that Yuni was approached by Byakuran Gesso, heir to the Gesso realty empire. He was also born into a notable family, one that owned most of the town, to be honest, and he had his sights set on expanding from real estate into trying out the experience of owning his own restaurant. He had plans to merge his dreams with the Giglio Nero bakery and ātake them to the next level.ā Though Yuni at first resisted, eventually the merger went through and the Giglio Nero bakery became part of Byakuranās dream. The Millefiore cafĆ© is now famous. Not only is all itās food made by the famous previous Giglio Nero bakery, but the bakery expanded into a full cafĆ©, the sort of large cafĆ© where you go for Instagram worthy shots and to see and be seen. If that wasnāt enough, thereās a big gimmick to the Millefiore cafĆ©. Itās got the amazing food and drink, the atmosphere, and as a plus, itās attached to Byakuranās āpet project,ā a large and stunningly gorgeous botanical garden.
Byakuran oversees everything related to the business. Heās the mastermind behind every decision and everything needs to be cleared through him. He assigns staff their positions, he has final say on all the menu options, he decides pay, etc., etc. He deals with everything but heās also frequently just seen lounging around the cafĆ© or walking through the gardens.
Yuniās inherited her mother and grandmotherās talent for mastering everything culinary. The baked goods, sandwiches, and other savory and sweet treats she creates are works of art, palatable to not only the tongue but to the eyes. She masters new techniques at an extraordinary rate for someone so young and is considered a culinary prodigy. She reigns over her kitchen benevolently though and doesnāt consider herself at all above any other staff member.
Shoichi & Spanner both work the same sort of position ā taking care of things behind the scenes. Theyāre responsible for all maintenance and care of not only the cafĆ© but also the botanical garden. Between the two of them, not only can they repair any issue but they can come up with new and interesting solutions to any potential issues and keep everything running immaculately.
Kikyo is the head barista for the cafĆ© side of the business and almost the āfaceā of the business. With his good looks and charisma, heās one of the staff that people most remember and one of the reasons they have some of their repeat customers. Itās not only his looks and charm that bring back those return customers though. Kikyo actually does have skills as a barista and he puts a lot of time and effort into honing them even more, pushing his limits, learning new techniques, and elevating his art. While Byakuran comes up with quite a few of the original drink ideas, itās Kikyoās dedication to his job that brings them to life.
Bluebell loves her job. She loves that she gets free treats every day. She idolizes her boss, Byakuran. She loves waiting on the customers at the counter and getting to talk to so many people. While she can act a bit bratty towards customers who are rude to her or who have an attitude, and she sucks at mental math if someone changes the amount of cash they gave her, overall, sheās actually pretty good at her job behind the counter and really enjoys her job.
Zakuro cannot be trusted around the paying customers. His moods swing so fast and heās just not a people person. He doesnāt want to have to handle the customers either, to be honest. Instead, Byakuran makes use of Zakuro by assigning him to the botanical garden. Zakuro takes on the role of head gardener with Daisy serving as his assistant. Between the two of them, they keep the garden looking gorgeous, with not a bloom out of place.
Gamma is Yuniās right hand. He never leaves her alone, serving as her second in the kitchen and trying to support her as much as he can. While his culinary skills cannot match hers, he is a talented baker in his own right, especially when it comes to bread or bread-like sweets. He never considers Byakuran as his Boss, since heās a staff member who came over from the Giglio Nero Bakery, and isnāt fond of whatās become of his previously loved and safe space of the Bakery.
Both Nosaru and Tazaru also came over from the Bakery and they also donāt really view Byakuran as their boss. Tazaru, where heās older, tends to have the most issues with Byakuran and openly scoffs at the botanical garden whenever he can. However, both of them support Yuni with everything they have. Nosaru often buses tables, runs errands for the kitchen staff, or washes dishes, finding any little thing he can do to help. Meanwhile, Tazaru plays prep cook in the kitchen and he actually has quite a bit of skill, surprisingly, at the more delicate work of frosting or completing complicated pie latticing.
Much like the Cavallone restaurant mentioned above, the Shimon familyās restaurant was something Enma inherited and even more so than the Cavalloneās restaurant, the Shimon familyās restaurant was in extremely dire straits when Enma inherited it. The original building for the Shimon familyās restaurant was just a little hole in the wall just outside of Namimori, dilapidated siding, the interior extremely dated, maybe a customer or two a day. It was not going well at all, honestly. To add more misfortune, the Shimon family restaurant was then struck by a freak accident ā a drunk driver drove their car right into the front of the restaurant right about the time Enma was inheriting it. The building was kind of massively damaged and it was decided that it would be actually more beneficial and just as financially sound to find a new building for the restaurant, in a more trafficked area. They ended up relocating into Namimori proper. The restaurant itself is still very small by the standards of some of the other massive places in Namimori. Even packed full, the restaurant would only seat about thirty to forty people maximum at any given time. However, the building is in good shape and Enma and the other staff of the Shimon family make the interior as welcoming as possible. The food they serve is nothing fancy. Itās just good solid simple food, but itās so well done and gives that kind of āhome cookingā feel that can almost make you tear up from nostalgia at your own parentās home cooking from your childhood.
Enma, though he inherited the place, does not have the best financial or business mind. He rightfully knows this and he doesnāt hesitate too much in letting someone else take over those parts of the business. Adelheid, with her sharp mind, steps up and takes over the behind-the-scenes work. She does the accounting, scheduling, and payroll. She finalizes menus, finds the cheapest source to find quality ingredients. She was the one who spent weeks searching out and finding second-hand quality restaurant equipment, sheās the one scouring thrift spots for good dĆ©cor and furnishings for the restaurant. She takes on a lot of the actual heavy work behind the Shimonās restaurant and the one sacrificing most of her time and energy into guaranteeing the renewed success of the Shimon family restaurant.
Enma, in fact, isnāt really all that good at most anything related to the restaurant. Heās not a good chef. Heās bad at even prep work, easily cutting himself or making a mess of the ingredients. Heās not great at speaking to the customers ā it gives him anxiety, so serving isnāt his forte. He can just about run the dishwasher and bus tables but he spends all his time at the restaurant doing that and any other odd jobs he can make himself useful in.
Kaoru is terrible with the customers. He intimidates them and canāt handle talking to them, much like Enma. However, unlike Enma, Kaoru has some surprising skills ā heās very useful in the kitchen. While Rauji is the head chef, Kaoru plays a fantastic right hand to him, doing everything needed in the kitchen, from prep work to filling in as a chef if Rauji needs a break or if the restaurant gets busy.
Kouyou is one of two servers at the Shimon restaurant. Though Kouyou is only really very charming towards the female customers, no matter their age, he is actually quite good at his job outside of that. He has the strength needed to carry far more orders than the others could and heās speedy at getting people their food, clearing their table, bringing them their bills, refilling their water glasses and the like. He does take pride in providing quick and efficient service and he would hate to keep tables waiting even five minutes for something, let alone fifteen to thirty.
As mentioned above, Rauji is the head chef of the Shimon familyās restaurant. A foodie to the core, he has the ability to take the simple dishes that the Shimon family specializes in and elevates them to new levels of just pure deliciousness. Heās got a real gift, truly, and heās always more than happy to use it to support the Shimon restaurant and Enmaās dreams of making it successful again.
Shittopi is flaky. While sheās a great waitress when she actually works, having a brilliant memory, she often doesnāt show up for her shifts. What she does do, always and without fail, and what she excels at best, is advertising the restaurant. She comes up with all posters, flyers, coupon designs, and advertising campaigns and strategies. She has an eye for detail and design and a creativity that sparks new and interesting ways to fill the seats of the Shimon restaurant.
Julie makes up the second duo of the Shimon familyās waiters. He tends to flake out on his shifts more often than he should, to be honest, but when he does show up, heās the more talented of the waiters, to be honest. While Kouyou has speed and strength on his side, Julie has charisma and charm. Heās far better with the customers than Kouyou is and earns the most tips out of everyone in the restaurant and frequently has repeat customers who request only him as their server.
The Arcobaleno restaurant is famous. Really, really, really famous. Itās become almost a myth amongst foodies in the current day but in the Arcobaleno restaurantās heyday, it was the place to go. It was where everyone dreamed of dining and though the dining experience came with a high price tag, the restaurant had the highest critic rating, the food and service was renowned, and people would gladly pay almost a whole weekās salary just for the experience of dining there alone. They were known for being high-end, the place to go for a full seven course meal, with amazing and innovative meals and luxury experiences. However, at the height of the success of the restaurant, it justā¦stopped opening. The place suddenly closed one day, with no notice and a brief explanation from the reclusive owner that it would only be a temporary closure. And then there was nothing further. The owner became impossible to track down; nobody saw anything of any of the former employees. It was like the restaurantās entire staff vanished out of nowhere and formerly glorious building where the Arcobaleno restaurant used to sit has now slowly gone to ruin. Thereās an urban legend that says that if you go into the building late at night, in full darkness, youāll sometimes find a small figure there, all wrapped in bandages, who goes by the name Bermuda, who will sell you the worldās most delicious meal in exchange for a life-changing choice.
I do envision that shadowy owner of the former Arcobaleno restaurant, the recluse who is strangely charismatic ā charismatic enough to have stolen very talented employees from other restaurants to bring about the restaurantās golden age ā to be Kawahira. Wonomichi was his talent scout (and still is). Heāll pop up at all these various restaurants talked about here, scoping out the food, the people, the talent and it all gets reported back to Kawahira, who is looking for the right people to usher in the next golden age of the Arcobaleno restaurant.
Just as the Arcobaleno restaurant had a golden age, it also had a golden boy. Of course, Iām talking about Reborn here. Reborn was scoped out from another high-end restaurant and came with a reputation that was well earned. While he butted heads with his coworkers on more than one occasion, there was no denying his skills. He was the restaurantās sommelier, but he was also unofficially in charge of almost everything. He was the only employee cross-trained in almost everything. The only one he was not allowed to fill in for, if a need arose, was Mammon, and that was less that he lacked the skills to do so and more than Mammon hated anyone meddling in their business. Reborn could host, serve, fill in in the kitchen, do catering gigs, bartending, whatever was needed. Not only that, but he had the restaurantās entire menu, drink selection, and of course, their wine selection memorized. He had a knack for recommending just the right meal and beverage pairing to a patron who seemed lost on what to order. Really, he was the backbone of the Arcobaleno restaurant and a large part of why it was so successful.
In charge of the kitchen was initially Luce. She was an immensely talented chef who was recruited from a tiny little family-run restaurant. She seemed to be blessed in the culinary department ā not only could she learn how to make new dishes in record time, but she had this amazing ability to take any dish, from the simplest to the most complex, and really elevate them to their full possibility. Everything she touched and made seemed to be impossibly delicious, head and shoulders above any other chef in town. Even when Verde threw new dish ideas at her that seemed impossible or strange, sheād pull out the dishās full potential and delight the taste buds of the customers. However, Luce was in poor health and while she loved her work, years in the kitchen took their toll and she was forced into an early retirement, wherein her daughter Aria took over for her. Thank goodness that supreme culinary skill seemed to be genetic or Aria, having been raised in the restaurant, had already been taught all her motherās secrets.
Right alongside Luce and Aria in the kitchen was always Fon. Heād play sous-chef to their head chef and for good reason. He was incredibly talented in his own right, capable of producing amazing meals. Fon also had a real eye for aesthetics, which became invaluable in how the kitchen plated their food, of course, but even out into the restaurant itself. Fon would come in early every day, before the supper rush happened, and heād painstakingly make sure the restaurant was a treat to the eyes first and foremost. When private parties were booked, he always arranged the banquet rooms and took charge of that, changing and tweaking things so that not only was the restaurantās private rooms the picture of luxury that they always were, but the room was well suited, aesthetically and practically, for that particular group. As mentioned, the plating of all food and drinks was also decided by Fon. His motto was that what you were eating and drinking needed to be as much a treat for your eyes as it was for your tastebuds and he never failed to pull that off.
Part of the restaurant was a beautiful old-world feeling bar. Customers waiting for their tables could always kill time by visiting the bar and there were always customers who came in strictly for the bar and their incredible selection of drinks. The skill of the duo of bartenders who ran the bar side of the business was unparalleled. Both Colonello and Lal Mirch were famous for their skills behind the bar of the Arcobaleno restaurant. While Colonello was the more friendly of the two, handling most of the actual bartending work ā the interactions with customers, the friendly banter, the recommendations, pulling craft beers, pouring wine, etc., Lal Mirch is a certified mixologist and was the genius behind the barās cocktail and mocktail menus. She took her work extremely seriously and a few of the cocktails invented by her specifically for the restaurant became THE thing you had to try if you drank, known to be ungodly delicious and perfectly balanced. The really good thing about the bar, other than the business it brought it and how the duo behind the bar, despite their bickering, moved as a well-oiled team? The bar overlooked the entirety of the restaurant, save for the private rooms, and because of that, both Lal and Colonello could see the floor and what was happening on it. They also served, outside of bartending, as impromptu ābouncersā should the need arise, as both had had plenty of experience bouncing drunks at their previous workplaces.
Skull was important to the Arcobaleno restaurant, though infrequently given any respect by many of the others. To them, he was lowest on the totem pole as the restaurantās busboy, though his quick and efficient skill at resetting tables couldnāt be scoffed at. The restaurant would not have been able to host as many tables and customers as it did per night without him. Though Luce and Fon would take care of Skull and make sure he got tipped out at the end of the night, the otherās frequently used him as an errand boy, though not without reason ā Skull was extremely talented and quick at all the little tasks that kept the restaurant running smoothly.
Verde was another integral part of the restaurant, though he was banned from interacting with customers. Customer service was definitely not his forte and he was bumbling as a waiter. He was also infrequently allowed in the kitchen, since the man was capable of burning a simple egg charcoal black. Where Verdeās skills lay was in the behind-the-scenes work. While he had a nasty habit of creeping other people out, he also had this strange charisma about him and a creative, intelligent mind. He interacted with the vendors that the restaurant used, procured deals and almost impossible to obtain ingredients and supplies. On top of that, Verde came up with some of the iconic advertisements for the restaurant, along with coming up with new ideas for meals or beverages that he then expected the otherās to bring into fruition. At least one or two of the Arcobaleno restaurantās signature dishes were Verde originals, brought to life and made to taste delicious by Luceās skills.
Mammon, likewise, was also entirely working behind the scenes. Customers never saw them. They were the shadowy figure in the back keeping everything running and every staff member rich. Mammon functioned as the business administration and accountant for the business and managed to keep overhead down while maximizing profits. Though they paid themselves the most, as said, they kept the owner and the staff of the restaurant nice and wealthy through their careful money management.
The Todd family have a very small, very nondescript restaurant. Itās just a franchised chain restaurant and next to nobody ever visits it. How itās still in business, much like the Tomaso, is a mystery. Thereās rumours that abound about it though. A lot of people say itās a front for the mob or something. Itās not, not really. But the rumours arenāt entirely off baseā¦below the restaurant, at basement level, the Todd Family run an underground gambling ring and itās where the townās loan sharks make most of their money. Mammon is tied into it in some way, though quite how is not allowed to be spoken about.
